Love Notes
by ashleynicol
Summary: With Valentines day coming up a new book store in Hogsmeade starts selling a book that matches people up. With everyone becoming obsessed with the Book Hermione and Draco's worlds get turned upside down
1. Chapter 1

It was February and it was the first Hogsmeade trip since the end of the holidays. Hermione and Ginny had set off on their own without Harry and Ron. Ever since the group had decided to return to school after the war, things amongst them had become more complicated. Ginny and Harry didn't get back together right away as everyone thought they would. Returning to school had revealed that Harry was no longer willing to take on any type of pressure or commitment- which even included Ginny herself.

Ginny was heartbroken, but Harry assured her that it wasn't that he didn't care for her-he simply needed to be a kid for once. Ginny took it the situation in stride and was dealing with things much better than Hermione was. Hermione and Ron been dating for a while, but he too decided to break it off, for less admirable reasons. He wanted to see what was out there, and didn't want to be tied down: what if they ended up together and then they were stuck? Hermione was happy that he was being honest, but it still stung horribly. As the girls approached Hogsmeade, they saw a commotion coming from the direction of the Ink and Quill Bookstore. It was a smaller, newer, but for some reason business was booming.

"What do you supposed is going on there? Whatever they're getting, I want one!" Ginny said, quirking a red eyebrow as she watched a girl from Hufflepuff shove a woman out of her way

" I have no idea but I can't imagine that it's worth getting trampled upon," Hermione retorted snappishly, even though her interest was piqued.

"Speak for yourself! Come on Hermione, live a little! Let's go take a look!"

The two girls made their way through the crowd, pushing and shoving to get to the center and not caring about the perturbed look the older woman was giving them. Once inside, Hermione looked around the store, taking in the high arches and stained glass windows. It looked like a small muggle church with bookcases lining the walls. There was a small section in the corner that was for sitting and eating the confections they made in the store. Next to the café there was a display of what appeared to be journals where the commotion was./p

"All this for a bloody JOURNAL!" Hermione cried, out getting more annoyed looks from the other girls and women trying to grab a copy.

" It's not just a journal, you stupid Mudblood!" Hermione turned to the voice only to see Pansy Parkinson looking very agitated. "Now get out of my way. Some of us know what we're here for." With that scathing comment, Pansy went to the table with the stack of books and picked out three.

"Always nice to see you." Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something about stupidity and slags under her breath.

"Well, we might as well pick a couple up while we're here, don't you think?" Ginny asked, as if she knew exactly what they were getting.

"But what are they?"

" I guess they're love journals of some sort. It's like having a pen pal, but in a book. Like the creepy Horcrux book I had in second year. Isn't romantic?" Ginny sighed.

Hermione simply looked at her like she had grown an extra head. "Let's go, and pick one out for yourself." Hermione shrugged and picked out a light purple one, noting that Ginny grabbed two.

" I said that I don't want the stupid thing, Pansy!" Draco said loud enough that he drew attention from some of the other students sitting at their table.

"But Draco it could be fun, especially if we end up talking to one another!"

Draco just rolled his eyes and shot Pansy a scathing look.

"Pansy do you honestly think out of all the witches that bought that book, you're the one for me?"

"Thanks Ginny, it was really sweet of you to think at me at such a random time" Harry smirked.

"Really Harry, you're one of my closest friends! I think of you all the time!" Ginny replied. Hermione rolled her eyes thinking maybe Harry could see through Ginny's coyness.

"Well I think that it's a load of rubbish. Girls and guys hooking up though books? Why can't they do it the normal way like the rest of us? And Ginny, I'm surprised, you said you'd never use an enchanted book again!" Ron shot to Harry, oblivious to Ginny's romantic notions or Hermione's hurt look at Ron's dismissal. Ginny simply ignored her brother's jab. Ron figured that the conversation was over and returned to his food, ignoring the feelings of the others at the table.

"It's not that bad Ronald." Hermione looked down, suddenly more interested in her food.

"Oh great, we've lost the level-headed one to thoughts of fancy."

Hermione turned red with anger.

"Draco darling, we are obviously made to be with each other!" Pansy cooed, not taking note to the other students snickering around them. "Look at our families! We were born for this: The Slytherin prince and princess, we would be the pureblood power couple, we could–"

"ENOUGH!" Draco stood up from the bench, enraged and not caring who saw what was about to happen. "Pansy, we will never be together. You're just a daft slag who I can stick it in once in a while. It will never be anything more than a quick semi-satisfactory shag between us! Just leave it alone woman, go fuck Blaise! it's not like you're not doing it anyway."

Draco stood up and left the Great Hall, the only sound heard being the echo of the door shutting. A pin could have been dropped. Pansy, humiliated, stood up and looked to her left to Blaise.

"Look Pans, it's not –" Blaise started. He looked guilty, like he had done something wrong.

"Don't Blaise, just... Don't." Pansy mustered up all the dignity she could and left the Great Hall.

After the display during dinner, the hall cleared out pretty quickly. Hermione decided to stay behind when her friends left, telling them that she would be up to the common room momentarily. When she finally left the hall she noticed a very depressed looking Malfoy sitting on the grand stairs.

"That was a foul thing to do in there, Malfoy." Hermione looked at him without fear.

"Yeah, well no one asked you, Mudblood."

Hermione flinched; even though she was used to his insults it seemed like this bad day would only get worse.

"Look, I may not be a big fan of Pansy, but no one should be talked to like that, especially with half of the school watching."

"Look Granger," Draco spat her name out like it was as foul as he believed her to be.

"No one asked you. Why don't you stick your nose in someone's business that may actually need saving? I'm not some charity case you can fix, I don't need help. I've done things alone so what makes you think I need your advice?" He stood, taking a step in her direction.

"Yes Malfoy, you have done things alone, and where did it get the rest of us? We're stuck in a world without the most powerful wizard because of your brilliant work. You doing things alone killed Dumbledore and who knows how many countless others you've doomed with that attitude of yours!" For a moment Hermione thought that there was a flicker of hurt in Draco's eyes, but it was gone before she could tell.

By this point Hermione was seething and closer to Draco than when she started. They were still a persons length away, but she was sure he could feel the anger roll from her in waves.

"Look Mudblood, you best mind your own business, you think you know everything, but you really know nothing. You have no idea what was on the line for me so don't think for a second you have me figured out. Insufferable know-it-all wenches tend to get their fingers burned, so I'd be careful if I were you." Draco brushed past her without letting her get another word in.

"Coward," Hermione called after him in the dimness of the hall.

Not knowing what else to do, she went up to her room to think.

A couple of hours later, while the boys were playing wizard chess, Lavender, Parvati and a few other girls had started taking the quiz in the enchanted journal to match them up with their "soul-mate". The owner of the book had to make a password to use it, then they could freely talk to the person who had answered their journal sorted couples by what they wanted in a relationship. After much debate Hermione opened hers and started the questionnaire; it was a lot of simple questions, such as: "What kind of physical attributes one likes in the opposite sex?", or "how do you feel about blood status?" , "what type of books do you read?" And the most important one "how old they are and how old they would date?" After finally finishing the survey, Hermione excused herself and went to her dorm room to try out the journal, embarrassed that she was using something she chided the other girls about./p

Upon opening the book, she decided that she wouldn't give out any personal information to the other person other than the fact that she was a student at Hogwarts. She figured that her partner would also be a student, since it matched people based on their age and region if that's what the owner wanted.

"Well, here goes nothing…"

_Uh, hello?_

She scrawled quickly with her quill, under the impression that it was like ripping off a band-aid—best to do it quick and not think about it.

Draco looked at the journal for a while, having long since finished the quiz and was now waiting for something to happen. The only reason he decided to use the journal was because he wanted to prove to himself that he could do better than Pansy. He knew that he could physically, but he hadn't really thought about ending up with someone compatible mentally. He was just about to close the book, which had been dauntingly sitting on his desk, when words suddenly appeared on the page.

_Uh, hello?_

He stared at the page as the words faded.

**_"Hi, wow this is awkward…"_**

He waited what felt like a few minutes, which was probably only a matter of seconds for the next message./p

_Yes, well I'd be a little surprised if it wasn't._


	2. Chapter 2

The next day seemed quiet, to any person who hadn't heard of the new matchmaking fad they would have believed that all the students were very dedicated to their studies. On the contrary, so many of them were playing with their new toy that they remained outwardly silent; Hermione herself was officially on board. She and her mystery boy had talked until past lights out, to the point that Lavender even threatened to hex her if she didn't put her wand out. When she woke up she felt silly for talking almost the entire night- she felt as if she was becoming as bad as Lavender. When running out the door to class she had contemplated taking her new journal, but didn't know if, it was a good idea. By the time her Muggle Studies class rolled around, she was happy she did. The class was focusing on Shakespeare today, a subject Hermione had studied on her own before. Using a great deal of stealth, she took out her journal and decided to see if the mystery boy had his open.

_Hello? I just wanted to see if you were in class or busy..._

A few minutes passed, Hermione finally giving up and starting to pay attention to Professor Adams' lesson. She was taking down notes when she looked over to her journal and decided to have one last peek.

_**I'm in class but I can't pay attention...**_

_I am paying attention…Well, at least I was. Is everything all right? Something on your mind?_

_**bHave you ever had to hide what you really are from the world?**_

Hermione blinked, seeing as she felt as if she hid from the world everyday. Although she hated it, she was put on display, one third of the 'Golden Trio'. Harry, Ron and herself were the trifecta of good, looked at as heroes- yet she felt as if she had to hide away. Everyone considered her the brains, but no one ever looked at her heart; her drive was always thought of as persistence and not passion. 

_Honestly, and I don't know why I'm saying this, but I feel as if I'm kept from the world but thrust into the public eye._

_**That's exactly how I feel. But everything to do with me is rotten. I feel like a prisoner in my own world, like I'm being forced to play the part of antagonist for no reason.**_

Hermione reflected briefly on what he wrote. She wondered who her partner could be, someone that feels like they're forced to do wrong? She continued writing.

_I don't think that you could be that bad... There are people at this school that are much worse than you. But if you want to make yourself feel better, be nice, or help someone. You could always talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to._

_**bYou know, it may not be easy but I'll consider that.**_

Just then, Professor Adams cleared her throat.

_"_Miss Granger? I asked you a question. It's nice to see that your are taking diligent notes, but in the future I'd like you to pay attention. Now, have you studied Shakespeare before? I thought I would ask to get your opinion since you are the only muggle-born in this class hour." Hermione blushed and looked around, noticing the smirk on Malfoy's face. She scowled at him and returned her gaze to the professor.

"I'm sorry professor, and I have only studied his works on my own. I'm a big fan of A Midsummers Nights Dream and the Taming of the Shew, both of which where adapted to muggle films a while ago."

" That's interesting, Miss Granger. And since you have read both of those plays, it has solved my problem." Professor Adams turned to the class. "That brings me to our next assignment." Everyone in the class groaned. " I'm going to be pairing up each of you with a fellow student, and you will have to perfom a scene from the play that gets assigned to you."

Hermione looked down at her journal and figured she should tell her new friend that she had to go. She figured she had enough time since her name was in the g's and Professor Adams had just began giving people their partners. She quickly scrawled that she had to go and she would talk later.

"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, you shall be performing a scene from Romeo and Juliet." The Professor grinned at her two brightest students."

"But Professor!" Hermione screeched, not knowing how loud she was._  
_  
"Miss Granger, everyone has been matched up by marks for this assignment, I'm sorry if you are unhappy with your partner but it shall not change!" Hermione looked embarrassed and Draco simply sat fuming, his ears turning red and his fists clenched. Professor Adams continued on with her list and noticed that class was almost over."Now you may all get your assigned scene on your way out, have a good rest of the day. You are dismissed!"  
_  
*** _

_Chapter Three_

Dinner was very uneventful for Hermione. She was still slightly embarrassed by her outburst in class and didn't quite understand why it was happening. Everyone including the teachers knew about her problems with Malfoy; they themselves knew that he was a pureblood git. So why try to pair him up with a muggle-born, especially since she was obviously smarter than him? All of the people at their table was sympathetic to her cause, but it just erked her more.

Across the Great Hall, Draco could care less about the upcoming assignment. He was more focused on his 'journal', having put a charm on it to make it appear different from everyone else's. He may have changed now that the war was over, but he wasn't going to be called a sissy for using the stupid 'match-making' book. Of course Draco was mortified by Hermione's behavior in class, how dare _she_ be the one to be embarrassed by him! He would find a way to get back at her later- right now he was going to ask for some advice from his new "friend". Draco felt like he was more at ease when talking to the girl writing from the other side of the book. Maybe it was because she didn't know him, but it made him feel like he could have someone that he could tell all his secrets to becauseshe didn't really belong to him.

**Why is everything always so complicated?**

He looked at the words on the paper waiting, and almost he felt exposed. He sighed after a few minutes and closed the journal, having gotten no response.

Hermione was on her way to the library when she bumped into Malfoy, literally. She was so sick of everything from that horrible day that she just snapped.

"Malfoy! Why can you never look where you're going? It's like I'm constantly bumping into the wall of annoyingness! For once I would love to walk somewhere and not bump into your massive oafishness!"

Panting after her little rant, she looked him in the eyes, not really caring that she might have hurt him in some way. Then she remembered that he had no feelings, he's a _Malfoy_.

"Listen you, you Mudblood, I don't care if you have a massive case of PMS and want to blame the world for your wrongdoings, but **you** ran into me! You know, you might notice things Granger, if you take out that stick up your arse. Relax and stop being such a bloody bitch, you'll be a lot easier to work with in the coming weeks if you do! You know, if you were a normal person I'd suggest you just have a shag, but you're not. No one could pry apart the innocent legs of Hermione Granger, though." He stepped closer, putting his mouth close to her ear. "Right?"

He stepped back and smirked, his point being to piss her off and make her speechless. Well, part of his plan worked. Hermione was very angry. How dare he insinuate anything that he was! She was trying to control herself, but she couldn't. So she slapped him.

"Malfoy, if my virtue is so important for you to know about, how about you ask around? Those slags you sleep with know all the timely gossip." She turned on her heel and headed up to her dorm, forgetting why she had ever even wanted to visit the library to begin with.

Malfoy just stood there, aghast that she had hit him again. He finally moved and made his way back to his dormitory with the same look on his face as right after she slapped him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and got into his bed. He brought his journal with him, hoping to see a reply. There was one, and the words jumped out at him. He wondered if the girl knew who he was because her words seemed so true.

_Because you make it that way._


End file.
